“Nozzle, the bartender at Sportsmen’s Lodge, is an old buddy of mine,” Dad said. “Noz can find out the day and time she checked in, and tell me if she spent time at the bar with anyone. I need a photo of her.”
“I think I saw one in the paper this morning. Give me a sec.” Robin reached for her purse and brought out her iPhone. She thumbed the keypad, scrolled, and then clicked some buttons until the phone clicked. “What’s your e-mail address, Walter? I’ll send you the screen shot.”
Dad gave her the address then left the table, returning with his cell phone. He opened Robin’s e-mail. “You kids with your technology. How did you do this?”
“It’s simple.” Robin demonstrated.
“Great trick,” Dad said. “I’ll show Laycee’s photo to the bartender. Who else did she plan to see in L.A., Liz?”
“Billy Miles, Kyle Stanger, and Jarret are the only people I know for certain,” I said.
“A coordinator in the Atlanta Wife Life production office is a friend of mine. I’ll call her for the inside skinny on Billy Miles,” Robin said.
“If Billy is at the gym in the morning, I’ll get his version of what happened between Kyle and Laycee at the stadium party,” I said. “Kyle is the only other person who knew Laycee was with Jarret.”
Dad pointed across the table. “Dave, run a check on Kyle Stanger. Find out if he has a record.”
“Kyle is up to something at the gym,” I said. “He takes short, closed-door office meetings with a stream of people who don’t belong to Game On and I’m fairly certain they aren’t vendors. I interrupted a meeting yesterday. He muttered out an excuse about membership.”
“Do you see who he met with?” Dave said.
“A kid, late teens, early twenties with overdeveloped muscles like a bodybuilder.” I said.
Dave sat back, folding his arms. “Kyle may be buying or selling steroids. There’s a motive there if Laycee knew and threatened to tell Jarret.”
Banned by Major League Baseball since the early 1990s, steroids were a hot topic in sports. Jarret, a purist when it came to his body and athleticism, adamantly opposed the hormone replacement therapy some athletes and bodybuilders took to build muscle mass.
“A steroid scandal at Game On could cost Jarret his career and his endorsements,” Nick said.
“Why would Kyle kill Laycee at Jarret’s house? And leave a symbol on her body?” I said.
“I can’t comment on the symbol,” Dave said. “But let’s say Jarret knew or conspired with Kyle in selling the drugs—a felony. They would end up in jail if Laycee exposed them. Her knowledge may have gotten her killed by one or both of them.”
Dad and Nick nodded agreement.
“Speculation doesn’t help clear Liz,” Mom said. “What do we do about it?”
“Build a scenario for reasonable doubt, Viv,” Dad said.
“I’ll snoop around a little more at the gym,” I said.
“Watch yourself,” Dave said. “If Kyle is dealing, he might be pushing anything—steroids, coke, Ecstasy, or worse.”
Mom got paper and a pen from the kitchen, and made notes. “Liz, wasn’t Laycee married? What about the husband?”
“Forrest was home in Atlanta,” I said. “He thought Laycee was visiting me in L.A.”
“What makes you think he stayed in Atlanta?” Dad said. “What if he followed her to L.A. and caught Laycee at Jarret’s house?”
“How would Forrest know where to find them? Jarret and Laycee left a sports bar and went to the house. Yesterday morning, Forrest called me, looking for her. I’m sure he was in Atlanta. I saw the area code on my—damn.” I buried my face.
“Exactly,” Dave said. “His cell number would register Georgia if he called you from the moon. Stalking his wife from Dodger Stadium to a bar to a tryst at her lover’s house is nothing to a jealous husband. I’ve seen worse. I’ll check the airlines. Dad, ask the hotel bartender if he saw the husband and when.”
I gave Dad a quick description of Forrest.
“I have a question,” Robin said, raising her hand. “What are we looking for?”
Dave and I answered in unison, “Lies.”
“Shouldn’t we be discussing the devil worship symbol?” Mom said. “Isn’t that the most logical clue?”
“Carla doesn’t think so,” I said. “There were no signs of a break-in at the scene. She has a crazy theory that, in order to mislead the investigation, I used a symbol I learned from Nick.”
Robin laughed. “Witchcraft? She sure didn’t do her homework on you.”
“Or she did. I know more about voodoo and Santeria than I care to.” I turned to Nick and grinned. “No offense, darling.”
“None taken. Now I understand why Eagleton didn’t call today after he got my report. Carla’s theory puts me on a list of potential witnesses,” Nick said. “Tomorrow I’m meeting with a devil worshiper in Silver Lake who can tell me if the Schelz symbol was adopted by a local sect. Dave, can you tap someone at the Indiana State Prison for a list of Herrick Schelz’s visitors? As far back as you can get them.”